Marina Abramović: an exceptional retrospective of the artist arrives in London

Conceived in close collaboration with the artist, this exhibition will highlight the wide range of her work, from photography to video, including objects and installations. Four of Abramović's best-known performances will also be performed in the galleries of the Royal Academy by people chosen and trained by the Marina Abramović Institute.

An extraordinary artist

Trained in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Marina Abramović turned to performance art in the 1970s. She therefore submits to a principle that will govern all her work: the ritualization of everyday acts through repetition and endurance. A pioneer in the use of the human body in art, she constantly pushes the limits of her own physical and mental tolerance, navigating between the intimate and public sphere, the conceptual and the existential, the physical and the witty. In the years 1975-1988, she collaborated with her companion at the time, the German artist Ulay. Together, they explore the feminine and masculine duality. As early as 1989, Abramović resumed her solo performances; they turn out to be revolutionary in terms of the creation of performative objects and filmed performances, but also in the way in which the artist involves the public. For the performance The House with Ocean View , for example, Abramović lived for twelve days in a three-room "house" within the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York. Drinking only water, she ritualized all the actions of her daily life. The public could come to see her, provided they did not talk to her and share their energy with her. One experience among many others that it will be possible to live thanks to this unique retrospective.

Retrospective

Creating has always been a way of life for Marina Abramović who has made her body her raw material. She has also always been fascinated by the fact that in several cultures, intense endurance events can lead to a kind of epiphany, transcending our physical limits... It is to illustrate this that the first room of the exhibition, entitled Public Participation, will present two famous works, produced 45 years apart and showing how Abramović's interaction with the public has evolved over time: from physical confrontation in Rhythm 0 (1975) to still stillness in The Artist is Present (2010). The next section, The Communist Body, will highlight the impact of her life in the former Yugoslavia and communist ideals on the artist's work. This part of the exhibition will include Rhythm 5 (1974) and The Hero (2001). In Body Limits, one will find key performances from Abramović's early career, presented in the form of videos or photos. Some illustrate the artist's use of her body and her physical endurance, others show her quest for transcendence. Among these works are the performance Imponderabilia (1977) and works made with Ulay, exploring human relationships. The exhibition will continue with the Absence of the Body section, devoted to works inspired by the break between Abramović and Ulay. Tea Lovers, The Great Wall Walk (1988), thus stages a ritualized separation: the artists move away from each other by walking towards two opposite ends of the Great Wall of China. At the end of a 90-day march, they meet briefly, before continuing their journey separately. The final rooms of the exhibition will look at the "transformative" experience of performance, linking it to various spiritual traditions.

A must-see exhibition from Saturday 23rd September 2023 to Monday 1st January 2024. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made online ( royalacademy.org.uk ).